Columns – Page 157 – Madison Catholic Herald

Editor’s note: This commentary was written for the bulletin of the Cathedral Parish in Madison for the weekend of January 24 and 25.

What a great feast it is that we celebrate today! Saul, the most ardent persecutor of the Faith, becomes St. Paul, its greatest proponent. That is really something to celebrate . . . for a number of reasons.

For one thing, this feast is a tremendous sign of hope for the Church as she travels through history. In this world, the Church has enemies. But we should look at each of them with the awareness that here may be the next Saul: the greatest enemy can become the greatest ally.

On January 29, 2009February 14, 2024

Greg Wagner

Don’t let abortions be performed at Madison surgery center

I am writing to encourage everyone who reads this newspaper to either make a phone call or write a letter to the UW Hospital System. I have put all of their contact information at the end of this article.

On January 29, 2009May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

‘A future pregnancy would be too risky’

Various medical conditions can affect a woman’s ability to carry a pregnancy and, at times, even threaten her and her child’s life.

Some of these conditions include pulmonary hypertension, Marfan’s syndrome, and certain congenital problems with the aorta. When a doctor informs a woman that she cannot become pregnant in the future without serious consequences to herself and her baby, having her tubes tied might seem to be the most appropriate response. Some would further argue that since the sterilization would be for “medical reasons,” it would be an “indirect sterilization” and therefore morally acceptable.

On January 22, 2009May 19, 2021

Msgr. Daniel Ganshert

Families must serve others

To know, love, and serve him in this life and to be happy with him forever in the next is why God made us. Family provides the environment in which knowing, loving, and serving God is made real.

As a matter of fact, the root meaning of the word family is servant. It is in the family where we are to learn how to be a servant. Our success has a direct relationship to finding meaning and purpose in life, to finding peace and happiness.

On January 22, 2009

John Huebscher

In state Legislature, pragmatic approach is good politics

The 2009 legislative session that begins this month will be different from recent sessions in one big way. For the first time since 1994 Democrats, and not Republicans, will control the State Assembly.

But in other significant ways, the session will be very similar to 2007. And that means in all likelihood, major policy changes will reflect a moderate, pragmatic tone.

On January 22, 2009

Michael Lancaster

Engaging in service ‘for the greater glory of God’

Ad majorem Dei gloriam — It was the first Latin phrase that I committed to memory. The cross and the four letters A.M.D.G. were mandatory on all homework assignments for Sister Dolorosa’s eighth grade class.

At my home parish, eighth grade meant not only graduation, but Confirmation, and Confirmation meant knowing who you were, why you were created, and what God wanted you to do. In eighth grade it was difficult enough to discern right from wrong, much less discern the will of God in your life. How do you hear God through the voices of friends, raging hormones, new and strange emotions, and trying to retain the pleasures of childhood while balancing on the edge of an adult world?

On January 22, 2009May 20, 2021

Audrey Mettel Fixmer

Election reveals possibilities for great-grandson

Did you weep that night? November 4, 2008, was one of those times when every senior citizen in this country had to whisper, “Thank you, Lord, for letting me live to see this day when an African American has been elected president of the United States, the leader of the free world.”

Regardless of how one may have voted in this election, no one who had lived through witnessing President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 sign an order that would allow people of any color, race, or creed the right to vote, or who could recall the race riots and the separate drinking fountains and bus seats of the ’50s could possibly be unmoved by this drama.

On January 13, 2009

Sr. Margie Lavonis

Redefining the ‘vocation crisis’

Articles about the shortage of priests and religious men and women in the Church, particularly in Europe and North America, are common these days. Many international congregations like my own, the Sisters of the Holy Cross, are still getting new members but in lands other than the United States.

Whenever I read or hear about this subject, I often think about an article I read several years ago that has really stuck with me. Dolores Leckey, a laywoman who wrote a column for Catholic newspapers, entitled her article, “What Vocation Crisis?”

On January 13, 2009

Susanna Herro

Stop the radical Freedom of Choice Act

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) has been surfacing for years, so why are dioceses across the country mounting a massive postcard campaign now?

The urgency is that President-Elect Obama has promised to sign this radical legislation. In speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007, Senator Obama said, “The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.”

The Freedom of Choice Act might appear under a different name, but under whatever title, it is one of the most radical anti-life pieces of legislation to be promoted. It is important that this legislation NEVER reach the desk of the president.

On January 13, 2009

Michael Lancaster

Catholic Schools Planning Core Teams

Nearly 100 people from across the diocese gathered on January 7 to carry forward the work of Catholic Schools Planning as members of one of the four Core Teams.

The evening opened with introductions, prayer, a brief background of the project, and an explanation of the process. In a letter of welcome to all of those gathered, Bishop Morlino conveyed his “deep gratitude and constant support” for the work of the Core Teams saying, “What a true blessing that so many of you have gathered to offer your time and talent as we plan for the future of our Catholic schools.”